Career advice

Practical guides for a Hong Kong career

Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.

Category: HR Career Success

Artificial intelligence brings huge benefits to HR but also legal quandaries

The introduction of AI in recruitment brings significant benefits to HR professionals. It is more time- and cost-effective, as automated programmes can carry out more mundane, time-consuming processes, freeing up time for HR professionals to do more strategic or complicated tasks. A HR professional may subconsciously select candidates with a familiar background or work experience that he or she relates to, whereas AI can be programmed to select candidates based on objective criteria only, widening the net of potential recruits.

HR Career Success

How to maintain employer-of-choice standing with Hong Kong’s digital natives

If salary is no longer their top consideration, how do we best connect with today’s emerging workforce? The key to hiring and retaining the new generation of employees is to create in them a sense of belonging to your company. For digital natives born into our new communications age, constant communication is vital. Yet doing so can be a challenge at times, especially when dealing with the most connected group around.

HR Career Success

How do I approach salary negotiations?

Q: I have worked as an accountant, for both Big Four and small firms, for 15 years and I am returning to Hong Kong after 10 years away, so I am looking to get back into the job market here. I earned a fairly high wage in my job in Australia and I would like to keep my salary on an upward scale. I have never before had to negotiate a wage though and I worry that I might be a little out of touch with salary trends in Hong Kong. How do you think I should approach the process?

HR Career Success

Tips to help you manage millennial workforce

People grumble that the younger generation of workers are getting worse; that they are immature and irresponsible; that they don’t work hard enough; that they want quick results while not willing to put in the effort. Many feel that the “internet generation” is too used to instant gratification, and don’t persevere for more meaningful rewards. Are younger workers as bad as many of their supervisors and bosses’ complaints about them suggest? Many of the millennial generation don’t think so.

HR Career Success

Don’t discount arts graduates for tech roles

What do an arts major and IT managers have in common? In short, the answer could well be “a lot more than you might think”. Personally, I have been involved with the arts from the age of 10 and had no intention of going into technology until after I had left university. The greatest programmer I ever worked with had a philosophy degree and, throughout my career, the majority of my colleagues didn’t offer computer science degrees.

HR Career Success

AI looks set to be a game changer for HR

There is no dubt that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a disruption for any industry. The question is how big a disruption will it be and whether disruptive innovation is what will bring about positive change. For Hong Kong’s recruitment industry, the answer remains to be seen, but observers believe that the industry is on the edge of a fundamental change and a major disruption even though it has been slow on the uptake.

HR Career Success

The best way to stay competitive in recruiting

In today’s volatile, uncertain and complex business environment, it is critical for organisations in Hong Kong to embrace new ways of thinking and working. This requires linking business strategy to talent strategy, critical to the success of talent acquisition. While tech trends such as big data and AI will continue to make the HR practitioner’s role significantly easier, it remains vital for HR professionals to continuously refine their skill sets and work with the right kind of tools.

HR Career Success

Remember that candidates are consumers too

As consumers, it isn’t hard to recall times when we were let down by a service or a business. In fact, at one time or another, we’ve all probably promised to “never again” buy from a company after a particularly frustrating experience, and complained to our family, friends or colleagues about it.